Listen to Allan Buckwell talking about livestock at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture in March 2018 below.

Why livestockFor hundreds of years, livestock production has been a central part of food system and society and a long-established part of the way we farm. It provides us with high quality protein and other essential nutrients. It is an essential part of the rural circular economy through its contribution to the nutrient cycle and its utilisation of crop residues and by-products of food processing. And it can help conserve important biodiversity and cultural landscapes and contribute to carbon sequestation through the extensive grazing of permanent pastures.

Yet it appears that the population- and income-driven growth in livestock consumption and the associated changes in scale, specialisation, concentration and thus density of livestock production are having serious consequences for the environment, GHG emissions, human health and over consumption of resources. This ultimately threatens global food security. There is mounting evidence that the negative consequences of livestock consumption and production are out-weighing the benefits and that the sector has reached an imbalance.

We perceive ever stronger calls to limit both production and consumption of livestock products. These pressures combined with the EU's obligations to meet its international commitments on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals suggest that change is inevitable.

The reportRISE will draw upon data from a wide range of sources, including academia, government institutions and industry to build a picture of the imbalance in the livestock sector and develop an idea of what a more balanced livestock sector would look like by addressing the key challenges and solutions for each species sector. It will aim to expolore if there a definable concept of balanced livestock production positioned in a safe operating space; ask what this balanced system would look like in scale and species makeup; and what policies are needed to guide such change and support the sector through the transition, safeguarding the benefits that the sector brings.

Events

On 26th March 2018, as part of the pre-Forum for the Future of Agriculture debate, the Foundation held a stakeholder consultation event for over 150 people in Brussels. A report of the event can be found here.

The final report will be released on 26th June 2018 and be available for download here. Details on the release event will be posted here.

Consultation process

To ensure that the Foundation's reports remain impartial and that the research team have as much access to information coming from a wide range of stakeholders, it has developed two mechanisms:

The stakeholder consultation workshop: Mid way through the development of each report, the RISE Foundation holds a stakeholder workshop to which it invites farmers, NGOs, industry, policy makers and academics to discuss and debate and respond to its work.

The Advisory Committee: the RISE Foundation has appointed a specialist Advisory Committee to guide the development of its thinking on livestock and ensure that its work remains impartial and balanced. Members of RISE Livestock Advisory Committee are as follows:

Professor Tim Benton, Dean of Strategic Research Initiatives, University of Leeds and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Chatham House